Tag: Global Actions - Page 3 - International Solidarity Movement

In commemoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre: #DismantleTheGhetto take the settlers out of of Hebron

14th February 2017 | The National Campaign to Lift the Closure of Hebron “Dismantle the Ghetto” | Hebron, occupied Palestine

February 25th marks the 23^rd commemoration of the Ibrahim Mosque Massacre in Hebron. This year’s commemoration coincides with Israel’s unprecedented escalation in seizing Palestinian land in the West Bank for settlement expansion. This has been accompanied with ideas from Israeli ministers to construct settlements and annex most of the C areas in the West Bank. The commemoration also coincides with Israel’s increasing campaigns to Judaize the Naqab, similar to what has happened in Um Al-Hiran recently, with a general rise in the policy of demolishing Palestinian houses whether in the occupied territories or within the Green Line.

Following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, the Israeli Occupation closed the Mosque for six months. Palestinians were punished by an imposed 40-day curfew and movement restrictions within the city. The Occupation also divided the Mosque into two parts whereby one part was converted into a synagogue. The Israeli government also increased settlement expansion within the heart of the City which further restricted the presence of Palestinians there, turning the city center into a ghost town.

The Israeli escalation continues in the heart of Hebron until the present day. The closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinian vehicles following the massacre, and then closing it for the Palestinian pedestrians and residents after the Al Aqsa Intifada was followed by the closure of Tel Rumeida neighborhood and whatever was left accessible of Shuhada Street in November 2015. They also continue to kill Palestinians on checkpoints and in restricted areas in Hebron. As of today, the number of those killed by the Israelis since October of 2015 within the closed area and surrounding it has risen to 22 people. The Israeli occupation’s practices against Palestinians amount to the level of ethnic cleansing, given the increasing checkpoints, restriction of movement, and the numbering system implemented to enter the closed areas in the Old City. This creates a Ghetto-system.

In light of the bleak reality, and given our belief that the best way to end the occupation and its discriminatory policies is by resisting it, the national parties, popular committees and civil society organizations in Hebron announce the launch of the “National Campaign to End the Closure of Hebron” through a series of different events. In commemoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre we call on our supporters and allies in the struggle, as well as members of our community, to participate in the campaign events, rejecting the Occupation’s practices in the City, and to demand the dismantling of checkpoints and barriers in the City, as well as the removal of settlers in Hebron.

These events will happen as part of the larger struggle to resist the Judaization policies within the Green Line and in an effort to bring greater awareness of the increasing campaigns from our friends and allies around the world that demand the dismantling of the Ghetto and removal of restrictions so that Palestinian citizens have freedom of movement inside Hebron. These events will also happen as part of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).

Our campaign is based on principles and rights sustained in international humanitarian law and the United Nations’ resolutions that consider Israeli Settlements and collective punishment as forms of war crimes. As such, UN Security Council decision 2334 calls on the Israeli government to stop all forms of Settlement activities in Occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Let the struggle to lift the restrictions and the removal of settlers in the Heart of Hebron continue.

The National Campaign to Lift the Closure of Hebron “dismantle the ghetto”

End medical apartheid: Israel kills patient Abd al-Kareem after banning him to enter Erez for treatment

27th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza team | Gaza, occupied Palestine

On 26th December, Israel occupation kills the patient, Abd al-Kareem Nahid Abu Halloub, a 32 year old, from Gaza after preventing him to get his treatment in a hospital in the West Bank.

The paitent Abd al-Kareem in the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza

The patient, Abd al-Kareem, had been suffering for about 90 days without having the right to get his treatment in the West Bank. He had a heart attack on 6/10/2016 and was in a coma for more than 60 days and his doctors stated and he had to get his treatment in the West Bank. Abd al-Kareem’s family tried to contact several organizations after being denied access through Erez crossing twice by the Israeli occupation authority.

The family took their son to different hospitals in Gaza, but the hospitals have limited medical equipment that the medical device needed for treating the paitent Abu Halloub, is not found in Gaza. The paitent needs to get his treatme

The paitent Abd al-Kareem Abu Halloub while in the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza After 90 days sufferingnt

It’s worth mentioning that the Israeli seige of the Gaza Strip that began in mid 2007 has serious repercussion on the Palestinian health sector, resulting in an aggravation of the humanitarian situation facing Gaza’s 2 million people.

According to the International Hummaitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, Israel is obliged to protect civilian people, the wounded and sick in times of armed conflicts. It must prevent the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and allow the free passage of all consignment of medical stores with a decent medical care. However, the Israeli occupation continues to violate these rights. Consequently, the request for permits to recieve treatment outside the Gaza Strip increased.

End medical apartheid: Israel banning entry of Gaza patient Abd al-Kareem

10th November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza team | Gaza, occupied Palestine

Abd al-Kareem Nahid Abu Halloub, a 32 year old paitent had a heart attack on 6/10/2016 and is in a coma for about 36 days now as a result of a sudden fall to the floor. He was convulsed. His health condition is extremely serious as the doctors stated and has to get his treatment in the West Bank. Though, the paitent was denied access through Erez crossing twice.

“We took him directly to Al-Awda hospital and they made him Artificial ventilation to assist him to breath until his heart worked again. In the evening, we took him to the Indonesian hospital in Tal al-Za’tar – north Gaza and the doctors there helped my son with all what they can possibly do. But they advised us to treat him in the West Bank.” Explained the paitents father.

The hospitals in Gaza have limited medical equipment that the medical device needed for treating the paitent Abu Halloub, is not found in Gaza. The paitent needs to get his treatment in a hospital where all medical devices needed for his situation in available as the doctors explained to the paitent’s family.

“We waited 72 hours as the doctors requires and then we sent his medical reports to hospitals in the West Bank and we got an approval from al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron on the reception of the patient. We also had an approval from Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, we received a denial from entry from the Israeli side, they refused to give the patient permission to enter through Erez crossing.” The father added.

The paitent Abd al-Kareem Abu Halloub while in the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza

After a week, the family received another refusal for the paitents entry through Erez crossing to get his treatment. However, they are looking for any other ways to make him travel for treatment.

Call to action: Olive Harvest 2016

9th September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement | Ramallah, occupied Palestine

At a time of increasing settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in the 2016 olive-harvest on the invitation of Palestinian communities.

The olive tree, a national symbol for Palestinians, is an affirmation of Palestinians historical connection to their lands. Israeli Forces and settlers have tried in numerous occasions to disrupt this special relationsship between the Palestinians and this thousand-year old crop. Thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by Israeli settlers and the military, but Palestinians farmers refuse to be intimidated – under the Israeli occupation harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance.

Despite efforts by Israeli settlers and soldiers to prevent them from accessing their land, Palestinian communities have remained steadfast in refusing to give up their olive harvest.

Palestinian farmer and internationals discussing picking permit with Israeli forces.

In solidarity with Palestinians farmers, ISM volunteers help with the olive harvest each year. If you join ISM over the olive harvest you will work with other ISM’ers in Palestinian olive groves especially exposed to violence and harassment from Israeli settlers and military. Our presence can make a big difference. It has been proven in the past to deter the number and severity of attacks as well as harassment, hence supporting the Palestinians universal right to be and work on their lands. International solidarity activists engage in non-violent intervention and documentation and this practical support enables many families to pick their olives. In addition, The olive harvest also provides a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Palestinian families in their olive groves and homes, there is nothing like sipping tea under a olive tree after a long days work.

The harvest will begin in start-October and run until mid-November. We request a minimum 2 week commitment from volunteers but stress that long-termers are needed as well. We kindly ask that volunteers start arriving in the first week of October, so we are prepared when the harvest begins.

Training

The ISM will be holding mandatory two day training sessions which will run weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.

Ongoing campaigns

In addition to the olive harvest, there will be opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine.

ISM maintains a constant presence in Hebron, where settler harassment and violence is a regular occurrence. Lately, Israeli army violence has escalated for Palestinians living in proximity to the illegal inner-city settlement. Israeli forces have used the Palestinian neighborhoods for military training. Harassment, humiliations and violence is an almost daily occurrence. A valuable part of the ISM’s work in Hebron is to monitor checkpoints near Palestinian schools. In the morning and afternoon schoolchildren have to pass through the checkpoints, which often lead to violent situations. From time to time young Palestinian boys throw stones on the occupying forces, which leads to collective punishment by the Israeli Forces as they lob dozens of teargas canisters and stun grenades, onto the schoolchildren. ISM is present at these checkpoints to document these extremely violent responses to boys throwing pepples, and to serve as an protective presence.

ISM also has an apartment in Nablus from where we work on a number of projects including resisting demolitions in various villages, and supporting Palestinians resisting settler theft of their lands. In addition to these activities, we participate in the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum, where protesters face excessive force by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

Come! Bear witness to the suffering, courage and generosity of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately convey the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the debate in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.

In Solidarity,

ISM Palestine

Important stage victory for BDS Oldenburg and Freedom of Speech

18th June 2016 | BDS Oldenburg, Germany

Local German SPD politician forced to abstain from charges of anti-Semitism by court order

On 14 June 2016 the Regional Court Oldenburg ordered Sara Rihl, local SPD politician and student member of the senate of the university of Oldenburg, not to repeat her statements relating to Christoph Glanz. Rihl had played a leading role in the prevention of an event scheduled by the Palestinian BDS campaign.

The lecture titled “BDS – the Palestinian Human Rights Campaign Introduces Itself” was to be held by the Oldenburg teacher and activist Christoph Glanz. Rihl had demanded the organiser – the Evangelische Studierenden Gemeinde (ESG) – to cancel the talk, and referred to the speaker as a “known anti-Semite” working for an “anti-Semitic organisation” in this connection. As a result, the ESG actually cancelled the planned event.

Glanz now successfully defended himself against this public assault. “We are happy to see that the local court has the defendant in her barriers and that she may not repeat those absurd statements if she doesn´t want to face severe penalties”, he commented. “We know the strategies of the Israel supporters who -lacking arguments- frequently use indimidation and slander including the antisemitism accusation to stop events such as the ones planned in Oldenburg. We are proceeding on the assumption that this court sentence will set a positive precedent for our movement and intend to reinforce our commitment to the just cause of the Palestinians even further.”

In 2005, Palestinian civil society called all people of the world including Israelis for active solidarity. After decades of suppression, displacement and occupation this call proclaimed a strategy that had already proven successful in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. BDS calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the State of Israel until it fully accords Palestinians their rights as established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dozens of UN resolutions and the Geneva Conventions.

These activities already made for a number of major successes in the past. At the same time, the State of Israel also intensifies its efforts to contain BDS and to drive it into illegality, in some cases successfully. Recently, however, more than 350 European human rights organisations, trade unions, churches, and political parties requested the EU to uphold the right to boycott. “What is remarkable is that some of these organisations do not even actively practise BDS themselves”, Christoph Glanz comments. “Their chief concern is their fundamental right as European citizens to act at their own political and moral discretion. This also includes a public debate which should not be characterised by fear and repression but by better arguments. Why don‘t our opponents face public discussion? All of our attempts to this end have come to nothing.”

Another talk on the same subject to be held by the Israeli Ronnie Barkan in the Oldenburg public venue PFL was also cancelled. In this case there had been threats of violence from the milieu of the Autonomist centre “Alhambra” whereupon the city withdrew from the already signed tenancy agreement. In this matter as well court proceedings are pending.

These incidents drew attention nationally and internationally. For example, Rolf Verleger weighed into the discussion and demanded the realisation of the event. Rolf Verleger is a former member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. A group of Israelis promoting BDS also solidarised with Christoph Glanz and criticised the mentioned incidents as attacks against the freedom of expression:

“In a city which fought hard to get its university called after Carl von Ossietzky- the journalist and resistance fighter against the Nazis who was so well known for his sharp mind and pointed pen- we would expect to see a lively public debate, rather than silencing.“

Riya Hassan, the European coordinator of the BNC (the Palestinian “BDS National Committee”), evaluates the situation as follows: “This ruling is a serious blow to Israel’s war of repression against the BDS movement. The German government must now join the Swedish, Irish and Dutch governments in making clear that BDS is a legitimate movement that should be protected as a form of free speech.“

Hassan further stated: “Rather than seeking to repress BDS activism and free speech, Germans who are genuinely concerned with peace and justice the in the Middle East should work to end German military aid to Israel, which is a form of material support for its ongoing oppression of Palestinians.”